Students Invent Light That Could Prevent Accidents
from the sounds-familiar dept
Years back, I remember hearing about plans for brake lights to be on a gradient. The idea was that the harder someone pressed on the brake, the more the lights would light up. This would be useful in quickly determining what was happening with the car in front of you, and if you needed to slam on your brakes, or just monitor the situation. I'd heard that the car companies killed this idea and "compromised" with the "third eye" brake light instead. The details of this story could be wrong, since it's probably been fifteen years since I heard it. However, it still seems like a good idea to me. I'm reminded of it now, as I read this article about some students who have built a special brake light that will flash if it determines you are doing a "panic stop" instead of just pressing on the brake normally. It certainly sounds like a good idea, and could help towards avoiding some accidents. Of course, the fact that the folks working on this have received a patent for it makes me wonder if the "gradient" brake light idea might be prior art. Also, the story of the car companies killing the original idea for the gradient brake suggests that this type of solution is unlikely to catch on unless it's mandated in some way - or most of the major car manufacturers can be convinced that it's in their interests to offer it standard.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
No Subject Given
I'd be more worried about the device that's been available in the motorcycle aftermarket for at least the last ten years, which causes the brake light to flash for a period of time whenever the brakes are applied. It's not the exact same idea (the motorcycle thing always flashes when the brakes come on, not just on a panic stop) but it's a lot closer to this "new" idea.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Flashing Lights
If I recall correctly, the gradient approach proved unworkable in testing. I guaranty you there's an SAE paper on it somewhere. The flashing idea has been around for years, as someone else posted, though I've never heard of it being widely adopted anywhere.
Rumours of car companies "killing" technology are just that: rumours. They pander to that element in society that wants to regulate everything. "See, if it weren't for those nasty [insert your choice of: car companies|oil companies|venture capitalists|white European males] we'd live in paradise. What we need is more regulation!"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
The problems
2. People may develop a false sense of security if the brake light is only dim.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
You already have this technology!
Hitting the hazards is also a great way to remind the prick behind you that he's endangering your life by tailgaiting you. In my experience, about 7 in 10 people immediately back off and behave themselves.
[ link to this | view in thread ]